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Your question is well founded. Some type of visas to some countries allow you to enter and exit via specific entry points only. For example, ENTRI visa of Malaysia limits to persons who are appearing from direct flights and go out of country on direct flights (or transit to specific countries). And the Airports of arrival is also limited.
For USA, there is ...
71
Google was wrong. There are two airports "in" Reykjavík: Reykjavík Airport, which is close to town and serves only domestic destinations and Greenland, and Keflavík International Airport, a.k.a. Reykjavík–Keflavík, which is 50km to the west and which has all the international flights.
At the time when the question was posted, if you searched Google ...
61
No, 4 days is (way) too short for tourists and especially in the winter.
Yes, you can probably drive around the ring road (Route 1) in Iceland; it's 1,332 km and the Golden Circle is only 300 km. The roads are paved, in good condition, and the maximum speed is 90 km/h (with a few exceptions in villages). That means that with ~5 hours driving per day, you ...
61
You will be arriving at Keflavik (KEF), which is a 40-ish minute drive outside Reykjavik. Keflavik is now the main airport for Reykjavik, and all the car hire agencies have a presence there.
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Yes, most Icelandic people speak very good English, you will be fine.
Their language is indeed called Icelandic, and is fascinating in regards to its history. From wikipedia:
The oldest preserved texts in Icelandic were written around 1100AD. The majority of these texts are poems or laws, preserved orally for generations before being written down. The ...
45
You could change without the rental firm knowing, but it's very risky. Suppose there is an accident while the other driver is driving. If there are any witnesses to the accident (drivers of other vehicles, for example), the company will find out. When considering this possibility, remember that endeavoring to drive very carefully doesn't help very much, ...
28
I found the definitive answer when I was typing this question; while inserting the ⌘ in the question's title and hovering over it, the dialog showed me it's a Place of Interest Sign:
According to Wikipedia, it's called a Looped Square and it's mainly used for this specific purpose in the Scandinavian countries:
It is also known as the place of interest ...
26
There are obviously a lot of gas stations along this road too, some of which have restrooms you can pay a little to use. See hours on the linked page as well. These are frequently treated as public facilities, rather than for paying customers only.
You can also pay a little at hostels / guesthouses along the way to use their facilities.
25
I would suggest to invest in a good phobia therapy; it will help in the long run.
Either with a private generalist therapist or with a specialist that , erm, specialized in air travel/flight phobia.
I know that some major airlines offer courses/therapy to help passengers get over their fears (or at least minimize them)
For example :
https://www....
24
The "Visit Iceland" website has a page about your rights to camp in Iceland.
Camping with no more than three tents is allowed on uncultivated ground for a single night, unless the landowner has posted a notice to the contrary. However, campers should always use designated campsites where they do exist. Do not camp close to farms without permission. If a ...
24
Contact your credit card issuer, and ask for a second card on your account with your wife's name printed on it. Most credit card companies will happily do this.
23
This article is invaluable for that sort of decision.
The growing season (summer) in Iceland is two months long. The tail ends of the summer are the low points, which means early June and late August. Things begin closing down in September. By Christmas, all sorts of things are closed, all though from time to time the industry tries to bring tourists to ...
23
I don't know if boarding a freighter by asking around in the port or approaching the ship's captain is still possible nowadays, many things I read suggest it is not. In a large port like Rotterdam, there is also no way to get anywhere near most ships without a car and some credentials.
On the other hand, there are many opportunities to travel on a freighter ...
23
From the way you described it, it looks like you agreed to a contract with specific terms, which include cancellation penalty. Unless the contract stated the penalty would only apply once you made your first payment, then you owe the cancellation fees, and thus yes, you are responsible to pay it. Paying them would of course be your first option.
Your ...
19
If flight time is truly of the highest consideration, then this blog details one person's travel around the world desiring the least possible flight time in doing so.
Three options are proposed, but I can't confirm whether they are still current:
Fly from Vladivostok (or Khabarovsk) to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, then get a flight from Petropavlovsk-...
18
According to the official Greenland tourism site there are two places you can use as your source. Rejkjavik and Copenhagen. There are 2 airlines servicing the island: Air Iceland and Air Greenland. The price Air Iceland is currently quoting for destinations in Greenland is 161 EUR (Kulusuk) and 193 EUR (Nuuk). I guess the further north the more expensive ...
18
Below are the answers to your questions, respectively:
1) Reykjavík is a pretty nice and relaxing city. How much time you want to spend there, depends on what you like and what you want to do there. If you like going to the pubs and just relax for sometime, then I would recommend to stay for a couple of days in Reykjavík.
2) If you want to take the Route 1 ...
18
My girlfriend and I did this drive about 3 years ago, and we went all the way through Vik and up to Egilsstaðir. We never struggled to find petrol stations, small coffee shops and guesthouses where we could stop on the drive. The longest distance we had to go was a couple of hours (say 3-4 at worst). From our experience, you should really not worry about ...
18
Reykjavik to Halifax (Nova Scotia) is showing as 18:05 to 19:40 according to Icelandair's summer timetable, page 23.
That isn't really 1h35 minutes of course, thanks to time zones. The timetable shows Reykjavik on GMT while Halifax is on GMT-3 thanks to Daylight Savings.
So, 4 hours 35 minutes from Reykjavik to Halifax.
Edit : when I'm calling the ...
17
I guess it depends on what you want to do, and how long you're staying. Traveling around the country might be a little more difficult, but if you're just staying in the Reykjavik area you should be fine.
I just got back from a short trip to Reykjavik, and had a great time. As another commenter said, more darkness means more time for the Northern Lights. ...
17
UPDATE: TomTom now have maps for Iceland. As of their latest update, this has been added to the 'Western Europe' collection for many devices.
TomTom use "TeleAtlas" maps, and in fact they actually bought TeleAtlas several years ago.
As with most mapping companies, TeleAtlas has varying levels of coverage for different countries. For countries like the US,...
17
Driving the road is 830 miles and not that hard except for the narrow roads, blind curves, etc. There are villages all around the coast of Iceland. Nytimes has a good article.
Now driving in the unpopulated highlands (the desert part in the middle) means driving in areas where there are no gas stations, no farms, no towing and you may have to drive across ...
16
Yes. You can leave the airport. Iceland is part of the Schengen Area. Thus, as a British citizen you do not need a visa to visit Iceland. Just be back in time to get through security and border control (if flying outside Schengen) before your flight leaves. You'll need to be back at the airport at least one hour before departure.
Update: When I originally ...
16
Wikimedia Commons has a picture where the contents of the plate can be discerned. They are there to help you identify landmarks in the vicinity. These sorts of things are called “orientation tables” in several European languages (French, Dutch…). I have also come across the phrase “viewpoint indicator”.
16
If you rent a car in March, the car will be fine for driving on the ring road in March. The question is, will you be?
I used to live in northern Scandinavia, and have driven rental cars in winter in both Sweden and Norway. With good tyres and wide roads, driving is not really a problem, but you will have to be careful. Expect longer braking distances, ...
16
@phoog's answer is very good, but I'm posting this answer to place more emphasis. Do not even consider doing this. Only the people who are named drivers of the vehicle are insured to driving it. This isn't just a matter of you being liable to pay damages if you're in an accident (which could be a huge amount of money depending on what/who you damage/injure/...
16
There is no requirement to leave and enter through the same port of entry. Note that this applies to everybody: US citizens, permanent residents, visitors, and anybody else entering or leaving the US.
If you are planning flights, you are certainly free to choose flight routing that comes back via a different route if that ends up being more economical for ...
15
I've gone to iceland by ferry a few years ago, It was an amazing journey and I'm still planning to go back!
Here is my experience:
We got on the ferry in Denmark.
It would take a week to get there.
You get a two day stop at the Faroe Islands.
There the roads were still made of asphalt (we later discovered that aspahlt isn't that well known in iceland)
The ...
15
The only ferry to Iceland is the weekly ferry from Denmark. It takes a while and you spend two nights aboard each way (and incidentally get the opportunity to visit the Faeroe Islands along the way).
The ferry is not guaranteed to run during winter (it mostly carries cargo during the winter months, if there is cargo going to Iceland you can book a trip, but ...
15
This depends heavily on the weather and where in Iceland you are. If you are staying in Reykjavík, you'll need to drive some distance out of town to truly get a good view of the northern lights. In more remote destinations it may simply be a matter of stepping outside. Of course, it could be cloudy the entire week. There are no guarantees.
Indeed, even ...
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